Five years since it was introduced to India by an American Hindu monk, surfing
is riding a wave of popularity

When the photographer Paul Calver got off the train in Mulki, a coastal town in the south-west Indian state of Karnataka, he was chased down the platform by one of the town's eager locals.

The boy thought Calver had left the train at the wrong stop. 'Get back on the train, you shouldn’t be here,’ he said. It was the next stop, Mangalore, about 20 miles further south, 'where tourists go’.

Mulki may not be a place people travelling in India usually visit, but it attracts a certain sort: surfers. Nestled in the palm groves is the Kaliya Mardana Krishna Ashram, a spiritual hermitage and home of the Mantra Surf Club, which was founded by Swami Narasingha – who also goes by his given name, Jack Hebner – in 2006.

Surfing was almost unheard of in India until the American Hindu monk, who is keen on catching waves himself, introduced the sport to his religious community and attracted curious villagers.

'The idea was to give my boys exposure to the wild and untamed nature so that they could appreciate the Creator,’ he has said.

Hebner asked a friend who was coming to visit from San Diego to bring couple of boards with him.

Since then, surfing culture in India has grown rapidly and in April the International Surfing Association, the governing body recognised by the International Olympic Committee, welcomed the country to its list of 67 member nations and islands.

Kishore Kumar, a resident at the ashram, whom Hebner taught to surf, is currently trying to put together a national team. The 23-year-old from Mangalore now offers tours to the best surf spots along India’s 4,349 miles of coastline.

Calver visited the ashram last year at the beginning of a month-long project, taking portraits of native Indian surfers.

He travelled on from Mulki to the beaches of Varkala and Kovalam, two good surf spots in Kerala. As well as surfers, he found a few entrepreneurial locals who rent out boards to tourists.

Boban Sajith bought his first board, imported from Britain, three years ago and is down on the beach at Kovalam from sunrise every day. 'That’s great for the local kids,’ Calver says. 'They can pick up techniques and learn about positioning and catching waves from people who have more experience.’

Calver found 10 regular local surfers at Kovalam, including Nissam, 16, and Joey, 26, 'a bit of a ladies’ man who got into surfing to impress Western girls.’

Kovalam has been a popular tourist destination since the 1930s, but has undergone rapid dev­elopment in recent years.

At the beginning of last year a coastal protection reef was constructed, designed to cause the region’s powerful waves to break offshore, thereby minimising the erosive effects on the beach. An added benefit is that the artificial break enhances the existing waves: good news for surfers such as Joey.